.Amani
Showing posts with label birthday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label birthday. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Michi in NYC~
During the week of my birthday my gyaru mommy Michi came to town from California ; w;!!!
I was so excited. Michi was one of the main western gyaru I looked up to when I first started the style~
I know she used to be in some of the older gyaru circles from before I got into the style, and then she was a part of Diamond which was one of the biggest, most active gyaru circles in the USA.
Anyways I followed her since Myspace and Ricoche days... that's how long LOL
I had to work all the days she was here, but I made sure that I had to meet her at some point! Even if it meant being exhausted from work. Which is what happened xD I brought some spare clothes to slip into from my work uniform, did my makeup and hair (which was a wonder to watch for my co-workers LOL) and then met her in Times Square~
She is so gorgeous in real life ; w; ♥
I showed her and her boyfriend around 34th street mostly, and took them to places like Midtown Comics, the Herald Sq Victoria's Secret and Uniqlo and stuff. They shopped around in Uniqlo and we had pretty cool discussions when we strolled around Midtown.
After that we were gonna go to Izakaya Riki to eat.. to find out it was all booked up ; A; and then the nearby Gyu-kaku had some sort of technical issues that knocked out half the store or something... it was really bad. So then we roamed until we found this one Japanese spot within the area. It was called Nippon? I think? It was pretty expensive! But we had a good time.
I wish I took pictures of the inside, which looked very business-like. You can tell a lot of business people went there, as well as the older Japanese crowd. The waitresses were older Japanese women and they were dressed in kimono. While we were looking at the menu to feel the place out, we found that Michael Jackson was a visitor there when he was still alive~ that was pretty cool o:
Their menu was totally strange to me... a lot of the things I did not recognize. I'm so used to my Japanese places that cooks a lot of fried food and stuff, but this place was more proper I guess. More high-scale.
I was so excited. Michi was one of the main western gyaru I looked up to when I first started the style~I know she used to be in some of the older gyaru circles from before I got into the style, and then she was a part of Diamond which was one of the biggest, most active gyaru circles in the USA.
Anyways I followed her since Myspace and Ricoche days... that's how long LOL
I had to work all the days she was here, but I made sure that I had to meet her at some point! Even if it meant being exhausted from work. Which is what happened xD I brought some spare clothes to slip into from my work uniform, did my makeup and hair (which was a wonder to watch for my co-workers LOL) and then met her in Times Square~
She is so gorgeous in real life ; w; ♥
I showed her and her boyfriend around 34th street mostly, and took them to places like Midtown Comics, the Herald Sq Victoria's Secret and Uniqlo and stuff. They shopped around in Uniqlo and we had pretty cool discussions when we strolled around Midtown.
After that we were gonna go to Izakaya Riki to eat.. to find out it was all booked up ; A; and then the nearby Gyu-kaku had some sort of technical issues that knocked out half the store or something... it was really bad. So then we roamed until we found this one Japanese spot within the area. It was called Nippon? I think? It was pretty expensive! But we had a good time.
I wish I took pictures of the inside, which looked very business-like. You can tell a lot of business people went there, as well as the older Japanese crowd. The waitresses were older Japanese women and they were dressed in kimono. While we were looking at the menu to feel the place out, we found that Michael Jackson was a visitor there when he was still alive~ that was pretty cool o:
Their menu was totally strange to me... a lot of the things I did not recognize. I'm so used to my Japanese places that cooks a lot of fried food and stuff, but this place was more proper I guess. More high-scale.
My tempura platter...
and chicken teriyaki as my main dish.
That chicken teriyaki... I could not.
It was so soft. Like heavenly-kind of soft. I had to be careful and chew because I knew if I had been my usual piggish self, I probably would've inhaled everything and choked xD But it was so delicious. I was never really fond of chicken plates at some restaurants because the texture would vary, but they made this teriyaki dish so well...
If I have money to splurge on in the future I'd definitely be back to this place! My gosh @ w@
Michi also had a little gift bag for me ; w; for meeting up with her.
I had so many feels~ I wish I had something for her! ; o;
Everything is all pink and black... just how I like it ; w; ♥
She gave me fingerless gloves~ I need to find out the material because it is so soft. I'm glad I have something cute to wear if I ever have my nails done again~ :3
a cute little pouch!
and an lash case ; A;
Michi and her bby invited me to stay with them if I'm ever in California... I will certainly take up that offer one day! Hopefully soon~ so we can go out to eat and take tons of purikura together and crap. ahhhhhh and so I can meet Valentine and hang with all my other cali friends too ; w; like my loli sister Misa
There's something about meeting people you looked up to. whether it's style, or professional, or what have you.. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to meet Michi. It reminded me of when I met Xiao for the first time.
I wonder how some people feel when they meet me in person for the first time...? ♥
(Probably intimidated as hell. lolololo)
My 23rd Birthday!
My birthday this year was pretty quiet compared to last year. Because of clashing schedules and not as much cash on me, I couldn't hang out with people like that, so I saved up just enough to go out with some of my lovelies that I barely see. Most notably my friend Ashley who now lives in Tokyo.
Originally we were supposed to hang out the night before my birthday, but apparently derpiness ensued, along with a very jacked up train system that left me waiting for hours just for no one to show up. I was pretty aggravated over it, but as always, it was the MTA's fault-- and we ended up meeting another day.
Of course that didn't stop me from camwhoring when I got home.
Mmmmmm yiiiiiiiss. ♥
Derpy posing. This was my outfit for the night.
Onepiece - Yumetenbo; tights, belts, shoes, bracelets and everything else is offbrand
And then I slipped into this hot pink dress that ended up... kind of being a splurge item... I gave into temptation while I was at F21.
That cutout. unf
Makeup detail. I applied them a bit wrong but they weren't too bad.
Bottom lashes were my fairy lashes, with the small ends of my Diamond Princess lash at the very ends.
The morning of my birthday I woke up to find that Omi made me a heart-shaped carrot cake..
And it was all for myself, if my morning facial expressions didn't say enough.
My morning chunk. This is exactly why I'm fat.
My actual birthday I didn't do much. I slept in for the day, and then I went to visit my family at my mom's house for a while, talked with my sister, before I left for church.
The next evening however was when I -finally- met back up with Ashley and Rio~
we went to Hakata Tonton, where I had shabushabu for the first time ♥
The pot as it was warming up
MEEEEEAT
We ordered edamame, and avocado tofu, which was surprisingly good. I was never really a fan of tofu before but I guess my tastes are changing around
I also ordered some okonomiyaki which was a must for me-- their okonomi was REALLY good, but I was kind of surprised with the serving. I'm so used to the huge pancakes that every other place serves, that I was kind of disappointed by this smaller, square meatloaf-looking thing they gave me. It was really good though, it packed a lot of flavor.
At some point I started browsing Ash's purikura book... and took pictures xD
her and her Japanese bff Yuminyan ; w;
More puri of her and Shiena and Love Gals~ ♥ one day I'll be there too~
She also gave me her extras ; o; which I will fill up my little book with
After we were done with food, we went next door to the West Village Big Gay Ice Cream Shop, which was MUCH roomier than their first store in the East Village.
Their cute cartoon unicorn mascot~
lol fabulously-dressed MLP statuettes occupying shelf spots on the wall~
While they were touching up makeup and whatnot, I got myself a peanut butter chocolate shake~ which was good as always, a bit less rich than it used to be, and no more strawberry jelly shot :c oh well
From then on we roamed... went to St. Mark's, got Ashley's tongue pierced, and then roamed our way right back until we headed to the trains home. It was really good seeing Ashley again since it's been two years. I wish I was able to hang out with her more, but hopefully we'll be able to catch up when I finally get myself to Tokyo. ♥
January Purchases--
I did a bit of birthday shopping throughout the month of January~ Luckily a lot of it were just sale items that I snatched up really quickly xD
But first some of my things from Guyana~
I managed to get this bracelet for myself while I was in Georgetown--
I've always wanted shell jewelry like this, but for whatever reason here in NYC, people want to sell them for 8 dollars or so... and I'm extremely cheap when it comes to accessories :x
So I was pleasantly surprised when I managed to snag this for what would've been 3-4 USD~ it's very pretty, even though it does that weird 'rusting' (? I don't know what this is called) that some shells do when they turn blueish or green.
These I got for my sister. My sister found that her father's side of the family was Guyanese when she started connecting with relatives on facebook-- so now she embraces that nationality. I wanted to get something for her since I was there, but I didn't want to get her the typical "flag" jewelry or anything obviously touristy... but then the jewelry itself (where I went, at least) were very afrocentric which isn't really my sister's style.. so I got these. When I go back I'll probably try and get something better for her.
Some of what's left of my Guyanese cash~
don't be fooled, this money is literally worthless, haha.
200 Guyanese dollars = 1 USD
So here you have like $5.60 worth, LOL
We carried maybe 50-60 USD worth for food down there, though, and we barely used any of our money.
The hotel we stayed at had complimentary breakfast, and their dinners were no more than 3-5 dollars. And then when we were staying at a pastor's place, we were being fed there so we barely had to use our money, really.
I can't wait to go back~ I'll probably end up bringing about $100 worth so I can do some real shopping haha
But yes... back to my birthday purchases.
One of the stores in Downtown Brooklyn were having a sale and so I got these for a good price...
The original price for this 2-iron set was 19.99, I got it for 9.99. It gets very hot and it doesn't have a dial like my old one, so I really only use this for my own hair and my human hair stuff. I still have my old iron but I'll probably end up replacing it once I find a new iron with a dial on it.
The place had their Outre extensions on sale 25% off... so I spent like 16 dollars I think on this hair. 18 inch wefts. The only bad thing was that the hair was kind of reddish for a #2-- but I managed to make it blend well with the 24-26" human hair extensions I did have, so I just used it to help fill those extensions out.
February Ageha like I usually get~
Getting really tired of the free makeup bags though. How many makeup bags do they figure their readers need???
They should start putting hair accessories or more lashes as free gifts... or something
Some more dollar books I got from Book-Off. I kind of regret these since they're kind of old and the fashions in there are kind of tacky.
FAIRY LASHES. The "Shiny Lash".
I was so excited to get these, I got them off of ebay. I really wanted to try them out because they were my favorite lashes that Sakurina and some of the other Ageha models wore, and it made them look soo pretty.
However when I got them I realized they were actually top lashes. wtf?
I looked back on the official website and it said "top lashes-- but can be used as bottoms as well" and I was like whaaaaaat
I'm usually very iffy about using top lashes as bottom lashes... the lashes have a different curve than if they were made to be bottoms.. so trying to work with these were really weird and kind of frustrating at first. The whole band didn't want to sit on my face right, without bending itself out of place really weird. Finally I cut up a pair and figured out a way to wear them a way that I like. I really enjoy them! I'll probably do an actual lash post at some point soon.
Ruby Kisses' HD Gel Eyeliner-- the best manmade item ever. My korean eyeliner finally had given out in December and I needed a new liner fast, and Ruby Kisses proved to be absolutely perfect.
The gel glides on so easily-- maybe a bit too easy....
While it seems really moist and slick, once it sets it's very hard to remove! It doesn't smudge once it sets, it doesn't melt, none of that mess. It lasts for so long, and it stays jet black. I love it so much. I'm never going back to bigger brand liners again. Beauty store brands are becoming my BFFs.
Now this is the little birthday gift you'll get from Sephora this time around, if you're a Beauty Insider. I didn't get my gift from last year because a year or two before because I just couldn't get along to it-- but this year I ended up going and getting my item, and they gave me these little mini-sized mascara and highlighter by Benefit.
And let me tell you, this stuff is so good. The mascara's nice, it makes my lashes look nice and full. Maybe not so much to the point that Makeup Forever would, but this still does nicely.
If you're a Beauty Insider-- definitely get this item. Just do it. My God.
I'll probably come up with a beauty favorites video soon~ since my camera and the lighting in my room seem to have an issue really cooperating, I'm gonna probably compensate by talking about some of my most-used items~
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Happy Birthday to Me!
And boyyy was my weekend a blast.
Friday I went to a screening party for Awkward Black Girl (if you haven't seen it then you must, it's hilarious) at Studio Twenty One in the city. It was such a good way to start off the weekend, having met Madison T. Shockley III, the actor who plays the character Fred.
The DJ booth
Madison!Boy, is he so cute irl ; ~; so enamoured. He was really sweet and nice to talk to, very welcoming and well-spoken. I'm glad ABG took the opportunity to make that event.
Ended up getting this cocktail... grapefruit-something with coconut rum. It was okay.They were supposed to show the first 7 episodes to the series.. but computer/youtube derping ended up changing plans, and there was a Q&A afterwards. Very well-thought questions concerning the way black people are portrayed in mainstream media, and what the future plans were for ABG as far as possibly becoming a network series and stuff. Another girl had him show his skills on the guitar she brought, and performed something he had actually made himself. Of course I had to be the last one asking "A day in the life of Madison", playfully trying to get more casual and seeing what he does other than work lol. Didn't work as well as I thought. But at least I didn't ask 'boxers or briefs" though I'm sure he probably expected it from someone at some point xD I have video of most of the Q&A, maybe I'll put them into a video on youtube or something.
Him and another ABG fan
Me and him ; ~; 
As soon as the Q&A was over I left after talking to him for a bit, because I had my Xbox harddrive on me and I wanted to play some games at 8Bit & Up... which I ended up doing till 1 in the morning. At least I finally beat Catherine?
Saturday I ended up meeting with a bunch of close loli friends, and after trekking for a while from Union Sq to Big Gay, we finally went to the bar place of my dreams, Dove Parlor.
The place was so gorgeous. A romantic setting with nice, soft seating and gorgeous velvet-y walls... I seriously did not want to leave. It's like a romantic tea place, except instead of tea you have cocktails and wine with the food.
The thing I loved about this place is that the servings were made for multiple people. We went for a cheese platter and a tea sandwich platter, both were ridiculously good. I've never really had an interest in cheeses too much, but after this time I'd definitely would do cheese tasting one day.
The cheese platter, and everyone telling me to go die for not taking the picture clearly (and making them wait xD)
Clear photo~I only have a photo of the cheese platter, but everything on it was so delicious. We ended up getting Brie, Mt. Vikos Manouri, Cabra Romero, and Sartori Stravecchio. Fresh breads, olives, marcona almonds, Kadota figs, sliced fuji apples, apricots and fruit preserves went along with it.
Everything was ridiculously good. I cannot stress it enough.
The cocktails were pricey, but they were well worth it. Each one (most of us got different ones and tried each other's) were well mixed, with a good amount of alcohol in them. We all agreed that we much rather pay 11 for a glass of their cocktails, rather than other places that are just as pricey (7-9) whose cocktails basically tasted like juice and sprite. And everything was strong enough to get even the heavy drinkers drunk after 2 cocktails xD
Laura's French Lavender and her bf's Green Fairy
Chris's French Lavender and Nancy's Cherry Tart.. which tasted like a pop tart, xD
I ended up having their "Spiced Peach Cobbler"... which, like all my friends said, tasted like 'the South'. I took a while to take the first sip because when I had the drink close to me, I smelled the sweetness of the cinnamon that was floating on top. Mmmmm.
I also ended up having a Honey Dove later, which was good too. From then on out we ate, chilled, talked, and acted stupid (a.k.a. Nancy falling over Chris and I, trying to get some dollars bills I had sticking out my boob). Surprisingly we weren't disruptive, no one noticed lol
My friend Christine also made a birthday cheesecake for me ;_____; IT WAS TIE-DYE with pink and purple and a chocolate cake crust, and it shimmered from disco dust on it. It was so damn good and everyone loved it.
Once we did finally leave the place, we went to Laura's boyfriend's house and chilled there watching My Little Pony videos. I can never get into the fandom xD lol
A bit of camwhoring once I got home. I wanted to dress nice but comfortable, so liquid leggings + top/onepiece with my black ankle boots and gold accessories.
Then today, I woke up -in time- for morning service at church and went to church for the whole day, where I finally took the 'Right Hand of Fellowship', officially joining the church as a member. Apparently I should've told them it was my birthday too so they can sing and celebrate, but I was done with celebrating by then lol. It was nice to get all the well wishes I did, especially all the ones I gotten on my Facebook page. I was cracking up because of the silly crap that some people were calling me... "frilly niglet" "milk choklit", etc... I love my friends.
Later on, I made a video to myself...
I basically congratulated myself on turning 22, and I talked about things in the past and how my life's changed. I noted the things I wanted to get done during this year, the travelling goals and the developments I wanted to make in myself, and then I spoke a prayer to myself. Now it's on my computer, and when it's my 23rd birthday next year, I'll go back to that and watch it and see how much of a change I've done.
I was always interested in making a little 'capsule' for myself, making letters to encourage me in the future and etc., but we never really did things like that in my school so I never really thought of it. I'll probably also make a letter to myself and hide it in my room until next year as well.
I am so thankful and I praise God for giving me these 22 years, and I have so many goals for the year and I'm glad I actually have a goal-fulfilling mindset. I can't wait to see what the next year has in store for me.
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